The Familiar
by crazyclaireonline
Summary: A SS/HG story told from the point of view of an unlikely source, ignores Deathly Hallows. What shaped Severus Snape into the man we all adore and his journey down the long and winding road to love.
1. Chapter 1

The Familiar- A/N- This is my first fanfiction so please be nice, constructive crticism is welcome.

Chapter 1

Being swung around in circles isn't exactly a nice sensation so it was no wonder that I was feeling very sick and about ready to rip the head of my tormenter. If only I would stop feeling so dizzy I might actually be able to see who they were. Some deity must have heard my prayer as the motions promptly stopped and I was held at arms length, facing my tormentors. There were four of them the first two larger than the others both with dark hair, one wearing glasses. The other two stood a little further back one constantly twitching as though he was nervous, the other calmly reading a book. However I could sense that the first pair were more of a threat to me being the two dominant males of the group, the others were merely lesser males and no threat to me.

"What shall we do with it?" asked the one with the glasses

"Give it to me," replied the other dominant male "I could have some fun with it"

"I didn't think that dogs really ate cats," laughed the spectacled one

"I'll make an exception"

He reached out to take me from the spectacled one who was holding me by the scruff of the neck. All the while I was silently fuming about the condition of my fur after this encounter until I finally noticed that the one dominant male was reaching out for me. I didn't like the look in his eyes and immediately began to struggle in the grasp of the spectacled one.

"Oh just let it go Padfoot!" exclaimed the one with the book "It's not even a kitten it's a ferret kit!"

"Looks more like a rat to me," Padfoot replied still with his hand hovering near enough for it to pose a risk but not near enough for me to touch it.

"Oi!" exclaimed the furtive looking male

"Oops sorry Wormtail," replied Padfoot

Laughing the spectacled one drew me back slightly from Padfoot and just as I began to hope that I was saved, I was suddenly flung in the air. The world turned upside down until Padfoot deftly caught me.

The idea that this brute could really hurt me when I was so young, adding on top of that, that I looked like an adorable, fluffy baby ferret that could melt the hardest of hearts sent me into overdrive. I'm not naturally a nice animal and although I look fluffy and cute I have a vicious temper. It just so happened the man called Padfoot was at the end of it. 10 minutes later Padfoot sported various deep scratches along his face, hands and arms. Peeling me off his right forearm which I was then using to sharpen my claws he flung me away from him as he ran off, the other three hard on his heels no doubt going to help him to tend to his wounds.

It was lucky that I landed in a nearby fountain otherwise I could have been badly hurt in the fall. However I didn't feel so lucky at the time cursing to myself silently as I dragged myself from the water all the while coughing and sneezing, thoroughly shaken with my close encounter. I collapsed on the stone edge of the water feature and tried to catch my breath. That's when I first noticed him, hiding behind a statue of Poseidon. Curiosity irked despite my condition I dooked to him (a noise any ferret will make when happy or in this case trying to entice someone to come closer), hoping to attract his attention and some means of help. Slowly and hesitantly he made his way over to me, the time it took for him to do so, allowed me to have a closer look at him. Black shoulder length hair hung around his sullen face, and he wore green and black robes. He glided towards me all the while looking around to check no-one else was in the quiet courtyard. Suddenly he stopped around six feet from me and he clearly did not want to get any closer. I smirked to myself; at least this one had some common sense. Normally a ferret is just that, a ferret simply an animal however ferrets or other animals that have been brought up in the magical world tend to be slightly different. Many can interact with their masters or mistresses and it is said that those who share a close bond with their owners can even hear each others thoughts. Like that would ever happen, I may be a young kit but I am not naïve, it's merely a story told to kits by their mother, to give them hope that they may perhaps one day have this special bond. It was no wonder the boy was nervous though, I had after all probably scarred the boy named Padfoot for life if not physically then mentally. But I needed help, there was no doubt about that, I was cold and wet and so I flopped over onto my back hoping to entice the boy to come closer. I would have started rolling around in a cute manner if I had the energy. Edging closer the boy stretched out a hand as though to touch me, I flinched slightly at the thought of being touched, I never was a very sociable creature always distancing myself from my brothers and sisters, but I needed his help so I stayed where I was. Slowly he laid a hesitant hand on my head only to leap back suddenly when a flash of light and heat erupted between us. I can only say that my reaction was completely instinctive and that I didn't do it deliberately but the fact remains that I still bit him, and hard.

"OOHH!" screamed the boy as he leapt back from me.

I however was chasing my tail in wonderment. I had never felt like this before all warm and fuzzy just after the initial burst of heat and light, like I was part of the bigger picture.

I was interrupted when the boy began muttering vulgarities. "Well there's no need to be so rude" I thought turning back around to look at the boy "Honestly I didn't bite you that hard"

"What do you mean you didn't bit me hard its…" trailing off the boy as he stared at me wide eyed.

I gaped at him in shock; he'd just heard my thoughts that meant that we had bonded. Of course the heat and the flash of white light was a sure sign of bonding.

"What do you mean? What Bonding?" asked the boy taking out his wand and healing the bite that I had given him. Oh yes I had forgotten about the whole reading each others thoughts, well this would take some getting used to.

"Are you really so dense human, that you don't know what happens when a wizard and familiar bond?" I thought

"Of course I do" replied the boy still keeping his distance (not that I blame him) "But hearing each others thoughts are rare and besides you're not a cat or an owl"

"And you think that familiars can only be cats or owls? Who would want an owl anyway? They leave droppings everywhere and there gone half the time on errands. And cats! Bah! Such pompous creatures not nearly as intelligent as ferrets" I stopped my internal rant when I realised he was smirking at me.

"Don't smirk at me boy! By the looks of it we're stuck together now and I should probably mention that as I was born in the magical world I'll probably live as long as you will. Oh and what fun that will be."

"Your speech is very mature for one so young you're only a baby" replied the boy

I arched my back in my displeasure "What are you talking about boy I may be young, 7 months old for your information, but then so are you and you're nowhere near as incoherent as males your own age. What is your name?"

He sniggered at that and I calmed enough to hear his mumbled name, something that sounded like Sev'rus.

"Don't you have an owner already?" he asked

"Do you really think that if I had an owner they would allow me to be chucked into a fountain? No I do not have an owner but now I do. Oh and you may want to know that you should never wake me up when I'm sleeping, I get very aggressive. Bring me toys to play with and read to me when you can. Oh and my name is Sophia."

"Wait a minute," he protested "I've never wanted a pet before why should I wish for one now?"

"Bad luck then you're stuck with me". It was my turn to smirk at his shocked expression; I was going to enjoy this.


	2. Chapter 2

2 Years later

2 Years later

A streak of silver was briefly seen on the common room floor as the ferret raced to the boy sitting quietly in the corner reading. With more speed than seemed possible for such a small animal, the ferret scaled the chair and settled in the boys lap.

"All right Sophia?" thought the boy adjusting the book so he could continue to read and yet accommodate the animal in his lap.

"Just peachy, but I swear if that cat comes near me one more time I will not be responsible for my actions," I replied my fur bristling in my anger.

He chuckled to himself earning several confused looks from his fellow Slytherins.

"An amusing book," he said, they lost interest immediately at the topic of books.

"Thank goodness we perfected our thought conversations," I said "It would look really strange if you were caught having a conversation with your ferret. A rather one sided conversation at that."

He chuckled again; thankfully less people looked up this time.

"Control yourself Severus or do you want people to find out that you can converse with you pet? You'll be sent to Madame Pomfrey in seconds" I chided

"You started it" he replied (internally of course)

"Your 16 and you are still acting like the 14 year old you were when we met. Will you ever grow up"

He laughed again. I sighed to myself, laying my head on my paws and closing my eyes. Subconsciously he began to trace the marking on my right front leg, although I was a silvery grey, I had black paws, as though they had been dipped in the darkest ink, however my front right leg was a little different. The black fur curled upwards and around to rest at the top of my shoulder, further than the black fur on any other leg would reach and strangely enough the shape it formed seemed snake like. As usual Severus would trace up and down this mark, I didn't understand his fascination with the shape until he explained the symbol for his house. Catching movement out of the corner of my eye I tensed slightly as I watched a first year girl carry her white Persian cat through the common room. If a cat could give a smug look then that cat had just graced me with a brilliant one, and why? Just because he had a silver cat bowl and ate caviar for breakfast.

"Furball!" I yelled across the common room, only the cat and Severus could understand though but the look on Mr Purebred's face was priceless. Sniggering I settled back into Severus' lap, life was good.


	3. Chapter 3

**5 Years later**

The ferret which lay dozing by the fire raised its head in alarm as the young man came stumbling through the door and collapsed on the armchair besides the fire. Casting aside the mask that he wore, he stumbled towards an armchair, slumping into it he dropped his head into his hands, his body shaking with sorrow. Not even stopping to sniff the mask the ferret launched itself at the man desperately trying to offer some support.

"What is it Severus? What's wrong?" I asked, his despair was so great that I could almost smell it "Severus please tell me you're worrying me." I got no reply though and so I began to nip at the arm that was blocking access to his lap.

"Owh!" he exclaimed, lifting the arm to escape from the onslaught of my bites but yet granting me the access I desired.

"Please Severus! What is it? I swear if someone's hurt you I'll bloody kill them. Who is it I'll bite there ankles!" I said my fur bristling in my anger. True Severus was a difficult boy, well young man now but he was sensitive, though he tried to hide it and I cared for him deeply.

"I don't think you should try that Sophie," he chuckled though I could detect no humour in his laugh, "I doubt a ferret could best the Dark Lord."

"Well you were an idiot to join him in the first place, didn't I tell you!" I was settled on his lap now, slightly calmer.

"I know."

I was up again in an instance. It must be really bad if Severus was admitting that I was right, and with no sarcastic comment either. If possible I was even more worried than before.

"What is it?" I asked gently, aware of how upset he was.

"What have I done Sophie? I've made the biggest mistake of my life. I joined that madman, and the things I have done for him" at this he shuddered and I buried myself in his lap, hoping to offer comfort "Terrible things that I will regret till my dying day, and yet it was so good at first I felt so free."

"Severus what has happened?"

"I've been regretting it for a while now, and suffering because of it. The Dark Lord regularly reminds me that I now belong to him. But now… he is planning on attacking the Potters."

"The Potters?"

"The boy with the glasses who threw you into the fountain."

"The one who gave you so much trouble at school? The one who hurt you?" I was hissing now, the Dark Lord had the right idea, I would kill the man who had inflicted so much pain on my master while he was at school, or at least bite his ankles.

"And his wife. Lily Potter."

"Pigtail girl?" I had quietened instantly "the one who you made potions with?"

"Yes, the only person ever to show me kindness, my only friend."

I sank back onto his lap (I had been standing in my anger at Potter), I remembered the girl. She was the only person whom Severus had ever told about our bonding. I had thought that they would mate but apparently they were only friends. I recalled the night that Severus had found out she had been going out with the spectacled one. He was furious. I had liked her though, she was kind to me whereas the other students would tease Severus over owning a ferret and kick me because of whom my master was. "What are you going to do Severus?"

"I don't want this anymore Sophia. I want to get out of this life, and help the Potters if only because of Lily's kindness. But I do not know how, I am a marked man" he said rubbing his left forearm.

"Dumbledore" I said, sitting up in my excitement. "He will help you Severus, he can see the good in people he will forgive you."

"I do not seek forgiveness I only seek to help."

"That may be so but everyone needs forgiveness and I am sure that Dumbledore will be able to offer you something to do in order to help", I exclaimed

For a long time we just sat there, he staring into the fire and stroking me. I, leaning into him trying to offer him consolation.

"I will do as you say," he finally said and without wasting time he set me on the floor and left.

That night the Potters gave there lives in the defence of their son. Even though Severus had gone to Albus Dumbledore it was not enough, while the rest of the wizarding world rejoiced at the defeat of the Dark Lord Severus sat in front of the fire mourning the loss of his friend Lily, lost in his guilt at not having acted sooner, with me on his lap.

**11 years later**

I raised my head from its position on my paws when I heard the door to the dungeon chambers slam shut but lowered it again when the cause of the ruckus entered the room.

"I can't take much more of this," he moaned throwing himself into an armchair in front of the fire. I yawned widely, to which I received a disdainful scowl and moved to settle myself closer to the fire; though they were normally quiet the dungeons were incredibly cold. My fur was still sleek and shiny with youth even though I should have been an aged ferret by now, one of the benefits of being raised in the wizarding world and this did keep out the majority of the cold but it didn't help to be literally on the level of the cold flagstone floor.

"What is it now Severus?" I asked, in such a way to show explicitly to the man brooding in the leather armchair that I really wasn't that interested.

"Another year of dunderheads who can't tell a draught of peace from a hiccup solution and I'm the one who has to try to prevent any fatal accidents." He sneered.

"After being stuck with you for 18 years you don't think I would know that it is something else that is bothering you, and stop sneering it does nothing for your features," I chided him curling into a tight ball.

"Potter!"

M head shot up at that. Now there was a name I hadn't heard in quite a while.

"What about the Potters they died years ago," I said confused.

He gritted his teeth clearly trying to reign in his rage.

"Their son, he has just joined the school, he looks just like James Potter and from what I have seen seems to be acting just like him as well." He was barely containing his rage now his hands gripping the arms of the chair so tightly his hands were white at the knuckles. I however, calmly un-curled myself, strolled over to him and placed myself firmly in his line of sight. Mainly by climbing onto his lap and placing my face directly in front of his.

"You need to stop this now Severus before it gets out of hand. The sins of the father are not that of the son. It is not the boy's fault that you suffered at the hands of his father."

He merely grumbled to himself. I glanced at him mischievously, there where many advantages to our bond as well as our ability to hold conversations in our mind but we could also tell what one another was feeling and I could tell that he had been calmed by my words even though no one else would be able to tell, not that anyone else would be able to see that I could tell him anything. Well apart from Dumbledore who Severus trusted enough to know about us. So it was merely a matter of cheering him up.

Grabbing his wand from his pocket I threw myself off of his lap and ran out of the room.

"Sophia!" he yelled running after me, clearly not amused. I however was having the time of my life. Dashing around his private study I dodged him easily and soon had him chasing after me throughout his chambers, however my fun was stopped promptly when he collapsed back into his armchair, panting. Dutifully I returned his wand and perched on the back of the chair which he was sitting in.

"Bloody hell Sophia! I'm not as young as I used to be," he panted.

"Your 32 Severus not even middle aged for a wizard" I replied. He scowled at me.

"Unbelievable, most wizards would be pleased to hear that and yet you scowl," I sighed "anyway will you consider what I said?"

"Yes," he replied sharply, his eyes glaring however his gaze softened when he looked at me "Yes I will, you are right I suppose"

"Miracle of miracles you actually just admitted I'm right!"

Laughing he reached for the book on the side table and began to read to me.

I closed my eyes and curled up again. I was content.


	4. Chapter 4

A year later

A year later

My back arched in my fear. Something was not right at Hogwarts. I could sense something ancient and dangerous moving throughout the castle. Although it was only early evening, dinner time in the great hall to be exact, it was pitch black outside, something which did nothing to relieve my unease. I knew that Severus was still in the Great Hall eating but I could not go to him. He did not like to be seen showing affection to anything or any-one within the company of students. Though I knew that being near him would have made me feel safe and protected. However I rallied myself and scurried down the corridor. It was important that I marked my territory, wouldn't want the residing cats to get cocky. I hissed in alarm when my paws met water.

"What on earth" I thought, unfortunately Severus would not be able to hear me from such a distance, not a comforting thought especially if I needed help.

But Severus' strict approach to the students must have rubbed of on me for I set out hoping to catch whatever student was responsible for the flood. Only to throw myself out of the way of the corridor as three students came running past, one yelling "Can't you hear it!" I ran after them in the hopes of seeing if there was anything they were doing that they could get into trouble for, as I said it was Severus rubbing off on me.

I almost ran into them when they abruptly stopped. They still did not notice me though so I creeped around them only to also stop in shock at the sight before me. A message was written on the wall, lifting my head slightly I scented the blood with which it had been written in. However that was not the sight which chilled me. Mrs Norris was hanging in the air. Paralysed. I stiffened in shock. However the more protective instinct in me took over. "The students" I thought glancing up at them. The boy I now recognised as being the famous Harry Potter was moving closer to the wall whereas the other two were standing still in their shock. Granger and Weasley? It didn't matter, I could sense movement within the very bowels of the castle, something was moving deep within the very earth, it was powerful and it was hungry. Concern for the students overtook me and I rounded on the two still standing there. Hissing at them I slowly advanced on them.

"What the..?" exclaimed Weasley. I remembered Severus moaning about his lack of technique in Potions but that didn't matter know. They had to get out of here.

"I think we'd better leave" stated the one I know recognised as Granger. The know-it-all she clearly was but I was grateful for it now, she at least realised that I was trying to tell them something. Lashing my tail created ripples in the water, It almost reached my shoulders, and though I was still curious as to the cause of the flood, the danger I found us in was imminent. I advanced on them more quickly now, trying to herd them towards the Great Hall and safety.

"What are you talking about Mione? Yeah I know the message is freaky but it's probably just a prank, probably the twins." replied the young Weasley.

"Harry" called the girl "we've got to get out of here something's wrong" glancing down at me the girl asked "which way do we go?"

If I had not been so frightened or worried I may have been surprised that the girl had spoken to me as though I were a person, but there was no time. I hurriedly directed them into the direction of the Hall which is a lot harder than it sounds when said people do not understand you even though my thoughts were practically screaming at them. The girl nodded once to show that she understood then focussed her attention back on Potter.

"Harry" she yelled "We've got to go"

I could sense the thing getting closer. I had no idea what it was but I didn't care. It had paralysed Mrs Norris, which meant it would have no problem dealing with the three students, not to mention me. Arching my back, I could feel my fur begin to rise and my teeth bare. Briefly my eyes darted down the corridor before I rallied myself once again, I would not leave the children there, hissing louder now I prepared myself.

As suddenly as it had come though the creature just as quickly left, I stood still in my confusion. What had stopped it? Three second-year students and a ferret were hardly threatening, but I could no longer smell it so it must have left. My questions were answered however when the doors to the Great Hall burst open letting out a stream of the student and staff body. I collapsed on the floor in relief and exhaustion, my fear wearing me out more than my actions had, however this also caused me to become completely submerged in the icy water, with only my head not wet. The body of pupils stopped and gasped as they saw the message on the wall and the frozen cat.

"Mrs Norris" screamed the batty caretaker almost treading on me in his haste to get to his cat.

The headmaster quickly took charge, and began to quiz the two boys. Granger however was crouching down beside me. Looking up at her I could see the concern in her eyes as she scooped me up. I was too tired to protest even though I usually only allowed Severus to touch me. She began murmuring reassurances to me most likely in the hope of rousing me from my exhausted stupor.

"Miss Granger I believe that, that animal belongs to one of my Slytherins and _not _to you, would you be so kind to relinquish your hold on the beast so that I may reunite it with it's owner" said the sarcastic, biting voice.

"Oh yes! Of course sir" stammered the girl immediately handing me over. Instantly I felt a sense of relief wash over me. Severus was holding me now. I would be safe.

"Headmaster if you no longer have any use of me..." he said trailing off.

"Yes of course Professor Snape, no we no longer require your presence" replied the headmaster.

I do not remember much of the journey to the Severus' dungeon chambers and only became aware of my surroundings when he sat in an armchair with me in his arms.

"Sophia," he pleaded his voice full of concern "please Sophia wake up, what is the matter?"

"Severus," I keened burying myself in his arms "I was so scared"

"What was it?" he asked

"I don't know," I wailed "but it was going to hurt them Severus, I tried to make them leave but only the girl listened and she wouldn't leave without Potter"

"Hush little one," he murmured gently rocking me "It's alright, you tried. What happened next?"

"It was coming for them Severus, I could smell it, I wanted to run but I couldn't, I had to get the young ones out of there"

"Of all the idiotic things to do!" he exclaimed, turning me so that we were face to face he began his internal rant again "you are not to go anywhere without me now Sophia, at least until this thing is caught. Promise me. You could have been hurt or worse. If something does happen and you are on your own, then you come and get me no matter where I am you come and get me, promise me."

"I promise." I swore knowing I would be reluctant to leave him alone now anyway due to my fear. Sighing he lowered me back onto his lap.

"Go to sleep" he said stroking me soothingly. So I did.


	5. Chapter 5

A year later

A year later

Yawning I spread myself out on the floor, the whole expanse of corridor was situated above the kitchens and the heat from the stoves heated the floor to an extremely comfortable temperature. Making the area very popular with the cat (and ferret) population. About five cats lay sprawled around me all content in each others company, even though each was very territorial the corridor had been dubbed common ground preventing any fights. I heard another cat approach and I opened my eyes, prepared to argue over my right to be there as I had to do so many times before merely because I was not a feline. It was however the newest addition to the castle's cat population and so proved no threat to me. Reclining back into my previous position I was therefore surprised when the cat sat nearer me than the others.

"May I sit here?" he purred. Nodding my head in what I hoped was an un-interested manner; I sat up so as to be on the same level as him and asked his name.

"Crookshanks," he replied and began to rattle on about this and that. I regretted engaging him in conversation immediately; however I managed to shut myself off from his inane chatter. I was not used to having cats talk to me, and was not really bothered by it. It is well known by all magical creatures that cats are generally pompous and when they have the energy are annoyingly talkative. So I allowed the ginger cat to rattle on all the while looking at him through hooded eyes. Even from a ferrets point of view he looked unattractive, and resembled a large orange brush, although I noted that he was quite large and it would be sensible to remain friendly around him. I could fight like a demon when needed but there was no need to encourage fights and with him as an ally most cats would deter from annoying me. Sitting up again in an attempt to look interested and caught the tail end of his rambling.

"…… But Mr Black said he would give me lots of kippers if I helped so I agreed."

"What!" I exclaimed, Severus had told me about Sirius Black, the convict from Azkaban, the one who betrayed the Potters, but more importantly (in my eyes) the one who threw me in the fountain all those years ago.

"Don't you like kippers?" asked Crookshanks

Shaking my head at the cat's complete idiocy I began again "No I'm talking about Black, he's why the Dementors are here isn't he?" Of course I already knew that, they'd bothered me enough. It's bad enough I'm barely above floor level but you try running on ground that's just iced over, really annoying it is!

"Yes but like I said he's giving me kippers, and I don't think he's a bad man….." he trailed off looking behind me.

Glancing at where he was looking I spotted a large rat skirting the wall. With a loud yowl Crookshanks charged at it, causing it to flee round the corner, with him in pursuit.

Still wanting more information I chased after him and turned the corner only to find him gone.

"Wow" I thought "Fatty can really run when in pursuit of a meal". Sighing I turned towards the dungeons, to report to Severus the news of one of his greatest adversaries.

He was leaning over a cauldron in his private lab when I found him. Swiftly I climbed the bench so as to be nearer his eye level.

"One minute Sophia," he said picking up a beaker from the bench I was on "I just need to bottle this."

Quietly I sat on the work bench, though I was anxious to tell him my news I was still very aware that he was surrounded by things that were exceedingly breakable if thrown against a wall in fury. When he had finished he beckoned me to follow him into his private lounge and poured himself a measure of Ogden's finest, as soon as he was settled I began my tale.

I really think that gracing the dungeon wall with the entire bottle of Ogden's finest was a little too much even by Severus' standards. I had not seen him this angry since a student by the name of Williams had thrown a swelling solution at his head seven years prior causing him to walk around with a head the size of a pumpkin for two days. Hurriedly I escaped from his destructive fit with him yelling instructions to keep my eyes and ears open for any more signs of Black after me. It's nice to feel appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

One year later

One year later

It was well past midnight when he woke me. He was tossing and turning on his bed again; caught in some nightmare of his past deeds, sighing to myself I stood and arched my back trying to relieve some of the tension caused by sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Quickly I scaled the bed and headboard leaning over his head, well aware that if I woke him too suddenly I could find myself hexed into oblivion.

"Severus," I said anxious to wake him in case he injured himself in his movements.

"Severus," I repeated, louder this time, still I got no response.

"SEVERUS!!" I yelled causing him to jerk awake and immediately reach for his wand (now you see why I was careful, I had no inclination to end up as a rat again, don't ask)

"What!?" he exclaimed searching for the source of the noise, finally deciding it safe I jumped from the headboard, landing on the bed next to him.

"Another nightmare," I explained "would you like some dreamless sleep potion?"

"No" he sighed rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes; my eyes noticed the darkening mark on his left forearm.

"Does it hurt?" I asked nuzzling his hand

"A little"

"You're lying"

He smirked at me "Perhaps," he replied picking me up and draping me around his neck for comfort.

"Is there nothing that can be done?" I asked concerned for his well being and safety all the while glaring at the brand on his arm.

"You know there is not", he sighed scratching me behind the ears "Dumbledore always said that there may be a time when I might have to return, that is the reason I've been keeping up this pretence all these years. You know that."

"But it does not make it any harder to bear" I replied "I do not want to see you in such a state after torture again Severus, I could not bear it"

"I do what must be done Sophie you must realise that, I fear it will be soon though the signs are all there"

"What do you mean?"

"Potter's name did not get into the Tri-wizard cup by accident; the ball has been set in motion"

"How utterly pessimistic"

He smiled briefly only to have it replaced with a more serious expression "If I do not come back Sophie you must promise me you will look after yourself, seek residence with Dumbledore he will look after you and you get along well with Fawkes, I must know you will be safe and cared for."

I did not reply but pressed myself more firmly into his neck, scared that I may loose the master whom I loved and protected so much.

"It will not come to that Severus"

"You have no way of knowing, you are the only family I ever really cared about Sophie, and I will not have you left alone if I go," he replied continuing to scratch behind my ear "and I thought you enjoyed Fawkes' conversation"

The reason that Dumbledore was told about Severus' and my bond was mainly because he also shared this relationship with his phoenix. As both Fawkes and I were bonded to our masters we could both converse with one another, despite the difference in species.

"Yes he is a good conversationalist, but you are better. I cannot lose you Severus," I pleaded nuzzling his neck for comfort.

"I pray it will not come to that," he replied


	7. Chapter 7

One Year Later

One Year Later

"You did not have to come with me," said Severus as he walked through the streets of London.

"I know that," I replied from my position around his neck "but you know I cannot resist baiting Black"

"You never really have forgiven him for throwing you in that fountain have you?"

"No, nor for the things he did to you, who knew that I scarred him that badly as a kit," I said puffing out my chest, and indeed I had for the scars left by my claws on Sirius Black's arms were still visible even though many years had passed.

"Indeed, I'll never forget his face when you first jumped out at him since his escape from Azkaban" he smirked, reliving fond memories. Not that I could see his face from my position but I could just tell.

"Must we apparate?" I asked, I did not care for the sensation of being squeezed through a small tunnel, nor was I ever likely to.

"You knew we would when you asked to come, now be quiet I must concentrate" he stood still for a moment before turning on the spot, with me clinging tightly to his robes.

We appeared at the entrance of headquarters, with Severus looking as regal as ever; with me looking like a large ball of fluff hanging on to his robes. Slowly I calmed myself and my fur fell back into position but not before Severus turned his head and caught sight of me, his snicker was followed by a hiss of pain as I dug my claws into his shoulder.

"Just go inside Severus," I said "and don't mention nor acknowledge the state of my fur again"

"As you wish Sophia," he replied voice thick with sarcasm, there were going to be a few more scars on his shoulders if he kept it up.

Our entrance into the Black house was met with Nymphadora Tonks crashing into a nearby coat stand in her surprise at our arrival, causing the portrait of Mrs Black to burst into a tirade against mudbloods and blood traitors. However as we passed she ceased her screaming to greet my master with a sincere "Hello Severus" to which the man in question replied, before launching into another howling fit. Quickly we made our way into the kitchen where the members of the order of the phoenix were assembling; Severus was greeted by Dumbledore who sat at the head of the table. Severus quickly took his normal position of sitting slightly behind his employer on his right hand side before anyone else could claim the seat. Hidden as I was by Severus' hair and robes no one noticed my presence which made it all the more fun when I leaped on to the table from my hidden position as soon as Sirius Black sat down.

Cursing he threw himself backwards, sending himself and the chair he was sitting in crashing to the floor. Sniggering to myself I looked up to see Severus smirking at his enemies discomfort, Dumbledore however did not look so impressed. A silver eyebrow was raised in my direction and I quickly slinked back to Severus in what I hoped was a repentant way.

Sighing he turned to Severus "I trust Sophia is doing well then Severus?"

"Yes Headmaster she is in good health and spirits," my master replied

Meanwhile Black has struggled to his feet, glaring at Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin who were attempting to stifle their laughter. "I want that animal out of this room!" he cried, righting his chair and throwing himself back onto it.

Sighing Dumbledore turned to me "Sophia please be so kind as to wait outside so as to not upset the master of the house again"

Severus looked like he was going to argue however I quickly re-assured him "Don't worry Severus, it just means I can startle him as he leaves" he frowned and looked like he was going to insist I stay, "you know you must obey Dumbledore the others doubt you enough as it is, don't worry I'll amuse myself."

Quickly, before Severus could plead my case I streaked out of the door, with Black looking be-mused at how I knew what to do; he still thought I was some stupid ferret, even after the scare I had given him.

I quickly scaled the first flight of stairs so as to avoid the insane house elf that was meandering along the ground floor hall; only to find myself confronted with several teenagers crouched on the stairs with a pink thing on a string hanging between them. Curious I crept closer only to have my vision blocked by something large and orange.

"Hello Sophia" purred Crookshanks who had just leapt off Granger's lap.

I gave him a small smile back. Since I had first met him I began to spend more time with Crookshanks, at first to gain information about Black but afterwards just because he wasn't too bad a cat. He was stupid, I wasn't denying that and if I was after intelligent conversation it was better found with Severus or even Fawkes. But he had a good heart, and like I said his size made him a good ally.

"What's going on?" I asked indicating the group of youngsters.

"Oh the Mistress and her friends are trying to listen to what's being said downstairs," he replied leading me towards the group.

I could make out Potter now with several of the Weasley's, not that I could tell them apart though one was female.

"Anything good?" I asked creeping closer

"I haven't really been paying attention". Snorting I glanced up at Potter who seemed to be muttering about Severus, he seemed a little surprised, but then again he wasn't one of the brightest boys.

"Hello," said a voice to my left and slightly above me. I squeaked in surprise when I was picked up and placed on a lap. Granger cooed over me for a few more minutes, holding me on her lap (trust me I would have gotten off in a flash if I hadn't been pinned down).

"Well its nice to see you again, though under better circumstances," she cooed scratching behind my ears, I stiffened first at her invasion of my personal bubble before melting onto her lap as she scratched in just the right place.

"What have you got there Mione?" asked one of the older Weasleys, who seemed to have accidentally duplicated himself.

"Oh just an old friend," she replied scratching my stomach as I tried my best not to resemble a very happy melted puddle of ferret.

Shrugging the twins turned back to the pink thing as Granger continued to scratch me.

"Oh by the way," muttered Granger, holding me in front of her face so we were nose to nose (I must tell you I was sorely tempted to bite her nose, just to get a giggle out of it, but she was a very good at giving scratches) "Thank you for trying to help us in 2nd year" and with that she calmly placed me back in her lap and continued petting me.

I was extremely surprised that she had remembered me; I mean it was what, 4 years ago! I couldn't help but feel a little touched at her sincerity and the fact that she spoke to me like a human and didn't speak to me like a baby as some people do to their pets (who wants to be called snookums or sweetie?) Gently I nuzzled the hand that was petting me, to which she smiled, especially when I began to dook gently. I was a bit confused when she began to loudly whisper "Crookshanks", I thought for a moment she might have suffered a case of serious short sightedness, there is no way I resemble that ginger brush, that was until I realised that Crookshanks was attacking the pink thing on the end of the string. So amused was I at my friends utter show of kitten like behaviour I did not notice that the meeting was coming to an end. One of the Weasleys grabbed the string and quickly wound it up just as the kitchen door opened. Jumping out of my captor's (alright maybe not my captor, how about personal scratcher?) loosened arms I dooked at her once, nuzzled her arm (it's only polite to say thank you!) and hurtled down the stairs. Literally. Severus looked very amused when I finally came to a stop at his feet, after having rolled down one flight of stairs.

"Alright there Sophie?" he smirked as he bent down to pick me up, quickly I dodged his hands feeling very irate at his seeing something funny in the situation.

"Don't you Sophie me!" I declared allowing my fur to settle back into shape after the shock of the fall (all this excitement is not good for my fur) "and I fail to see what is so amusing about the situation I could have been seriously hurt"

I squeaked when he suddenly scooped me up but relaxed again when he tickled my stomach. "Sorry Sophia, I didn't mean to laugh. Are you alight?" he said as he made his way out of the house, me still draped in his arms.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said relaxing under his petting, so relaxed was I that I did not see one bushy haired know-it-all smiling down at the scene my master and I presented. Nor did I notice that Severus was ready to apparate until we had actually arrived at our destination of Spinners End. Hissing I leapt out of his arms, fur very bush like and into the house, determined to ignore Severus for the remainder of the day. Whimpering in self pity I raced into the bathroom and wailed at the sight before me. My fur would never be the same again!! I tried to ignore the fact that Severus was laughing rather loudly at my expense downstairs.


	8. Chapter 8

One year later

I rolled onto my back slowly so as not to upset any of the jars or books which were located on the top of the bookshelf, where I was lying in a square of sunlight. Gently dooking I relaxed once more.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked my Master, sarcasm shining through once more. Well the only way to fight fire is with fire.

"Immensely," I replied, "it really is a shame that you weren't given this post before, you don't get streams of sunlight in the dungeons, in fact I was starting to wonder if you even knew what the sun was!"

Growling to himself, Severus went back to marking 2nd year essays the scratch of his quill still noticeable despite the fact that I was located 6 foot behind him at the top of a large bookcase. They really must have been bad essays. Eventually the sound ceased and my Master stood and stretched his back and neck. I winced at the array of clicking sounds that came from such a movement.

"You really need to relax a bit more Severus," I muttered clambering onto my feet and hanging my nose over the edge of the bookcase to see him better. He glanced up at me briefly and sighed.

"There is no time for that Sophie," he replied briskly collecting a pile of essays from the same bookcase that I was situated on, "I have 6th year Gryffindor and Slytherins next, which basically means me trying to keep Potter and Malfoy from killing each other for a whole hour oh and I have to put up with the know-it-all," He grumbled banging the essays down onto student's desks.

Smirking I sat up "you and I both know that you don't hate Granger, Severus, you've told me enough times how brilliant she is, go on just admit that you have a soft spot for the girl" he muttered something about insane talking ferrets and carried on with his task. Smirking I followed his movements, I wasn't the only one to spot his apparent appreciation of the know-it-all Fawkes had told me that the Headmaster was well aware of it as well. If only he wasn't so blind to his own feelings, I thought shaking my head, they were well suited to each other, whether as friends or something more, both extremely intelligent, both having a passion for potions, and both not afraid to fight for what they believe in. I knew that they would both get along splendidly if they only talked, but Severus had to maintain a constant façade of indifference, which seemed to be entreating more and more into his personal time. Something was weighing heavily on my Master's mind, he wouldn't tell me, but I would find out, I had been a familiar to this man since he was 14 years old and I would continue to stand by him no matter what.

So lost was I in my musings that I did not notice that his class was slowly beginning to file in, quickly I noted that Granger had spotted me and was smiling. I drew back into the shadows and settled myself comfortably to see what this class had in store.

"Do stop grinning like a simpleton Miss Granger" drawled Severus as the girl hurriedly took her seat "Wands out! This is Defence against the dark arts class not a student soiree!"

Sighing I laid my head in my paws, just another day.


	9. Chapter 9

(A/N- here is where I change the story and ignore Deathly Hallows, so if this doesn't interest you then stop here)

One Year Later

I was curled up tightly next to the fireplace, and although it blazed merrily I still felt undeniably cold. It was the middle of summer but what with dementors running lose throughout Britain the temperature had dropped significantly, I was surprised that Muggles hadn't noticed this however Severus had said that they had blamed something called Global Heating, a load of nonsense as usual, trust Muggles to bury their heads in the sand. The small cottage that my Master and I currently resided in was not exactly the best accommodation, well maybe that's a bit too harsh. It was clean, warm and tidy. But the person who had decorated must have been blind; Gryffindor red clashed with canary yellow and that was just the living room. I shuddered to think of the bathroom which I now refused to enter, but then again judging on the person whom had found us this residence I shouldn't really have been surprised at the décor.

Sighing I pulled my tail tight against my body and suppressed a shiver of cold. Ever since Severus had had to kill Dumbledore we had been on the run, and it was not agreeing with me. Though I had only myself to blame, initially he had wanted to leave me behind at Hogwarts where I would have no doubt have been able to take care of myself. It took three hours of me yelling at him plus various scratches on his anatomy until I convinced him that there would be no abandoning on his part. I could still tell he was reluctant though and now I know why, the nightmare really began on the night of Dumbledore's death, I had watched from my position at the school gates where I had been told to wait as boy-wonder attempted to curse my Master. There would have been some serious ankle biting if Severus hadn't of come hurtling towards me, Draco in tow before grabbing me and apparating us out of there. Since then we had been on the move almost constantly and although Severus had finally found favour with the Dark Lord and as a result was suffering less I could see how his actions had drained him.

The front door of our accommodation (I'd given up on calling them all home, we had moved so many times) slammed shut. I couldn't find the energy to raise my head so instead opened my eyes and fixed them on the doorway leading to the hall. I could hear footsteps outside the room and knew instinctively that they were not Severus', my fur began to rise and I bared my teeth.

Only to promptly relax as a familiar face peered into the room. "Ah Sophia" exclaimed Albus Dumbledore pottering into the room and seating himself in a rather squishy armchair, Fawkes flew in and perched himself on the back of said chair "and how are we today?" Not having the energy to speak (it would have had to be translated through Fawkes anyway) I dooked quietly, letting him know that I was listening despite my eyes falling shut. Noticing my discomfort Fawkes began to sing quietly and I could feel the tension leave my body.

"Will tears do any good" he asked ruffling his feathers in concern.

"No, I do not have a wound" so tired was I that I could not come up with one witty comment, so instead I thanked him.

"Rest Sophia" he insisted and began to croon a lullaby.

I awoke at being picked up, despite how gently it was done. I began dooking when I realised it was Severus. Once he had seated himself opposite Dumbledore he placed me gently on his lap.

"Are you alright Sophie" he asked, concern thickening his voice slightly.

"Yes I'm fine Severus, now get on with business, you know Dumbledore will have to leave soon." I chided gently, burrowing into is robes.

"As you wish" he replied gently stroking me. I was so tired but I wanted to remain awake so that I could give my own advice to Severus later, so I lay there quietly and listened.

"How go things with the Dark Lord Severus?" asked Dumbledore, unwrapping a lemon sherbet and sucking on it noisily. I winced slightly at the smell of it; I never was a fan of lemon sherbet.

"Fine sir, I have continued to do as you have instructed and things are going well"

"Well that is good, and I am grateful to you my boy. However there is one small matter that I wanted to raise with you." I lifted my head at that; a small matter to Albus Dumbledore was likely to have large effects on the person (or ferret) concerned. He once raised the small matter of allowing students to bring their dogs into Hogwarts as well as cats, around 10 years ago now. Pandemonium is an understatement. I could sense that Severus was feeling the same way about this "small matter" however he remained silent.

"Well..." began Dumbledore "I believe that it is time for you to re-join the order"

We both remained silent; however it is a bit difficult to speak when your mouths are hanging open in shock. The man had finally cracked, all those weeks of hiding from everyone so as to keep up the image of Severus killing him had taken its toll and the man had finally succumbed to insanity.

"Are you insane!" exclaimed Severus, obviously thinking along the same lines as me.

"Not yet my boy" he said chuckling "but the end is drawing near, the order needs both of us."

"But why me?" asked Severus "I am sure they will not hesitate to kill me on the spot". My hackles began to rise; I'm very protective of what is mine.

"They won't hurt you Severus, not when they see that I am with you, it's just a matter of explaining what occurred"

"You do realise that if you are seen then you will sign my death warrant" stated Severus.

"Of course my boy and all necessary measures will be taken to assure your continued position within the death eater ranks and your safety." I wasn't pleased when Dumbledore put something before my Masters safety, I would have to talk to Fawkes about this later.

"Think about it Severus, you will finally be able to stop running, and once again take a more active role in the defeat of the Dark Lord" said Dumbledore in a rather crafty manner "potions need to be made and we both know that you are the best and only potions master in Europe, we need you"

Severus still looked a bit doubtful so Dumbledore played his trump card, "and look at Sophia this travelling is making her ill, surely you don't want her to suffer? I would offer to find her another place to stay until this is over but there is a chance that she may be recognised, there are not many silver ferrets with her markings."

My tail was lashing in my rage, "Don't listen to the old coot Severus, you do what you feel is right, I'm fine and don't you even consider finding another place for me to stay."

"I could dye your fur" offered Severus, I nearly bit him until I realised that he was attempting to lighten the mood "I won't leave you anywhere Sophie but Dumbledore is right, I may be needed."

I decided that silence was probably the best option; I would follow where my Master led and although I did usually voice my opinions without restraint this was a decision that he would have to make on his own.

"As you wish sir, I will do as you instruct" said Severus.

"Brilliant" exclaimed Dumbledore, before hurriedly leaving the room, most likely in case Severus changed his mind, but not before telling my Master that he would be back in a few days when he would re-join the order.

The house was silent again once Fawkes and Dumbledore had left; only the crackling of the logs on the fire filled the air. I shivered again, my fever returning full force. Gently Severus stroked my head, his concern for me evident through our bonding.

"Do not worry so Severus" I mumbled setting my head comfortably on his lap "I will be fine soon"

"Once we go back to headquarters I will be able to make a potion that will cure you."

"Just concentrate on getting back into the headquarters Severus, anything after that will be dealt with in due course."

"Who knew that you were so sensible" teased Severus scratching me in just the right spot, dooking gently I drifted off into a light slumber.


	10. Chapter 10

A week later

I coughed as the bitter liquid ran down my throat, true to his word as soon as Severus was once again accepted back into the order he had concocted the cure for my ferret flu. I was not enjoying it though. Gently so as not to attract attention I pushed my drinking bowl along the table top were I was situated, towards the waste sink at the other end of the work surface, hoping to get rid of the disgusting medicine before my Master noticed.

"Don't even think about it Sophie" Severus warned, his back to me as he bent over a cauldron at the other end of the rather small potions lab that Grimauld place sported.

Glaring at both Severus and the green medicine in my bowl I pleaded my case, "but I feel a lot better now Severus" I whined (I was that desperate) "I don't need it". The fates must really get a laugh out of me because as soon as I proclaimed this I suffered from a fit of sneezing.

Turning and raising an eyebrow at me, Severus could barely hold back his grin. Stupid potions master, he refused to flavour the medicine as he did to the human version, something about a small mammals system compared to a human's. I think he just wanted a laugh. And he definitely needed one, acceptance back into the order had been difficult, at the appearance of Dumbledore many had accepted his explanation and had apologised to Severus. Boy-wonder was an exception. I had said before that he was a bit dim; well I was wrong, he was a complete imbecile.

Despite the fact that Dumbledore was standing right in front of him, he still proclaimed Severus a traitor and had to be restrained be Weasley and Granger, I think his glasses might have steamed up so he couldn't see that Dumbledore was standing alive and kicking around 2 feet from him. He was being quite insulting really and breaking free from his side-kicks he had attempted to attack Severus, in a Muggle fashion as well as though he didn't understand that the length of Holly in his pocket was a wand that he could use to curse someone with. Severus had been a bit surprised at this form of attack and had been a bit slow on the uptake, I am sure Potter would at least have gotten a punch in (although Severus still firmly believes he could have hexed him before that) if I had not (bravely) thrown my self off my Masters shoulder (were I had sat concealed by lengths of black hair) at Potter. Really you think his God-father would have told him not to mess with me, but clearly he had not and as a result the boy-who-lived-only-to-be-attacked-by-a-ferret now sported various scratches on his spectacled face. Serves him right.

Still that didn't change the fact that I still had half a bowl of medicine that tasted like rancid meat and smelt like vomit to drink. Just as I prepared myself for my fate a mass of brown hair bounded into the lab, it took me all of 10 seconds to realise it was Hermione Granger. Dumbledore had insisted that Severus accept the help of Granger in an attempt to speed up the production of helpful potions, at least that was what he had said. I think he just wanted to meddle with another person's life which I was a bit peeved at it, I could meddle in Severus' life quite well on my own thank you very much. The man in question had moaned at this new development, I knew however that he was quite looking forward to working with someone who had the potential that Granger did.

A few terse words were exchanged (well terse on Severus' side), he instructed her to begin making a rather powerful healing draft before turning back to his own brew. Shrugging Granger placed her bag under the work surface, scratched me briefly (too briefly in my eyes) behind my ears and began setting up her potion. Still trying to put off the inevitable I ignored my potion and concentrated on the two humans.

Severus had just finished his potion when he hissed in pain, nearly dropping the finished liquid.

"What is the matter sir?" asked Granger turning from her own task.

"I am being called Miss Granger, I expect you to continue working while I am detained and I want everything finished and cleaned away when I return" snapped Severus quickly writing a note to Dumbledore.

"Be careful" I put in.

"I will be" he replied, glancing at me quickly "make sure Granger works well, and finish your potion" he said smirking, I began to argue but he was out of the door before I could plead my

case.

Sighing Granger added the correct amount of Armadillo bile, I crept closer so that I could see what she was doing.

"Is he always like that?" she asked turning to me. I nodded. Big mistake. Gasping she moved closer to me, so we were face to face.

"You can understand me?" I decided to play ignorant; she was having none of that though.

"Oh come on" she said "I know what I saw, and don't think that acting all Slytherin will help you." I decided to give in; secretly I quite liked the girl and couldn't see the harm in letting her know that I wasn't just a regular animal, like her cat.

I nodded and a bright grin broke out over her face. "Wow" she sighed "that's amazing I take it you're a bonded familiar then, to be so intelligent" I nodded again, no need to tell her that all wizarding animals were intelligent to a certain extent, although she was right in a sense, only bonded animals really tried to communicate with humans, others just couldn't see the point.

"So your bonded to Professor Snape?" again a nod, my neck was beginning to ache, attempting to change the subject slightly to save my neck I directed her attention towards her potion.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed quickly carrying out the required steps "thanks, I almost forgot". Sighing I turned back towards my medicine bowl, might as well get rid of it while Severus was not in the room. After a few moments she noticed what I was doing, and setting her cauldron to simmer she took the bowl from me.

"What's this?" she asked, sniffing at it slightly, her face wrinkling in disgust. As answer to her question I began sneezing once again (not intentionally).

"You poor thing" she cried scratching me again, have I mentioned that she is very good at giving scratches?

Setting the bowl back down in front of me she quickly retrieved a book from her bag and flicked through it until she found the appropriate potion. "Alright a simple cold and fever relief potion, but Professor Snape obviously didn't add essence of mint to flavour it". Sighing she turned back to me. Seeing the resolve in her eyes to make sure that I took the correct dosage, I decided to implement my baby ferret look. This look had been perfected throughout the years and had always resulted in me getting my way, unfortunately Severus had become immune to it over the years, luckily though, his colleagues have not and I can frequently be found with a large slab of Minerva McGonagall's Scottish Shortbread, as a result of said look. This advanced manoeuvre involves puffing up my fur slightly and opening my eyes very wide, to give the impression of innocence, dooking quietly also helps.

I could practically see her heart melt and I had to work very hard to stop myself from sniggering at my success.

"Well" she said "I do need you to take this medicine" to which my head shot up, was it possible that my look had failed? Was my age finally catching up with me? Even despite the fact that in wizarding animals I was still considered young? "But I will flavour it for you" she finished. I sighed in relief, thank the gods, I thought I had lost my touch.

After drinking the changed potion, I sat close to her working area and continued to answer her questions. It only got difficult when I could not answer with a nod or a shake of the head. However we came to a compromise, in which I would point my nose at letters in one of her text books, spelling out my answer.

"S-o-p-h-i-a" she read "that's such a pretty name" she said and I puffed out my chest slightly.

I was getting quite fond of the girl, I would have to tell Severus to stop being so harsh on her, I needed her to be in a good mood so that she would scratch me.


	11. Chapter 11

A week later

Charging into the potions lab at Grimauld Place I quickly scaled the table leg, and then once on the table top, clambered up a nearby pile of books, anxious to get as high as possible.

My movements attracted the attention of Severus whom was involved in a discussion with Granger. The two had formed a sort of truce over the past week, I knew that Severus was enjoying discussing and challenging theories with someone who would understand and debate with him.

"Alright Sophie?" he asked turning away from Hermione to face me, causing the girl to also notice me.

"That bloody house elf!" I yelled, fur still bristling from my close encounter with the psychotic elf.

"What's wrong with her?" piped up the girl, to which my Master informed her of my source of distress "Don't take it personally Sophia, Kreacher is just a bit protective of the Black house"

"Don't take it personally! That insane house elf is still trying to get rid of me, thinks I'm some sort of pest, he's a god damn menace!" I ranted pacing on the limited surface of the book. Severus began sniggering at my speech, to which I promptly told him what I thought of him and his views on house elves.

"What is she saying?" asked Hermione, I was completely prepared to reveal my feelings for insane house elves as well sniggering potions masters despite her long held views (yes I had heard of her campaign, something like HURL or SPIT or some such nonsense) however was stopped when Severus said "I don't think you really want to know Miss Granger" to which they both began laughing.

I was pleased to see them both getting on so well, however because they were laughing at me I deigned not to inform them of my emotions and decided to ignore both of them for the remainder of the day. It being mid-morning I hoped that they would get the message. However despite several superior sniffs and lashes of my tail, the two completely ignored and went back to debating whether gillyweed or armadillo scales would be better in a regenerative potion than the current use of powdered fairy eggs. To say I was pissed off would be an understatement. I had no qualms about sharing Severus' affection (well not with everyone but as I said before I thought that Hermione and Severus were well suited so it was an exception) I do not take kindly to being ignored when in distress and obviously in need of a very good scratching in that special place behind my ear. My musings were interrupted when a large ball (wait ball is too small think… cannon ball) charged into the lab and proceeded to climb onto the table much as I did, though of course I did it with more grace. However the arrival of what I now identified to be Crookshanks caused the pile of books I was sitting on to become unstable, causing me to leap from my perch back onto the table so as to avoid falling off, to land besides the panting ginger cat. I was a bit surprised that the humans hadn't noticed this drama unfolding, who knew gillyweed was so fascinating!

"What's wrong Crookshanks?" asked I, ever the concerned friend.

"It's that deranged elf" he panted obviously not used to moving faster than a snails pace. I made a sympathetic noise, ever since feline and ferret had moved in Kreacher had taken a personal dislike to us, I think he was just jealous that we received more attention from the humans than he did, whether it was a good or bad reaction (Potter would leap away from me whenever I came near him, much like his deceased God father, and so my fun continued).

Our attention soon turned back to our Master and Mistress, who had begun to raise their voices as they came to a topic that they disagreed on.

"I wish they would just mate and move on" commented Crookshanks. I nearly fell over in shock.

"What!"

"Well Mistress is always talking to me about him" he confided "I think she quite fancies him"

I could only stare at him in shock, well who would have thought, though I had said in the past that I thought they would be good together I never thought that anything would come of it. Thinking about it though whenever I mentioned the girl Severus would quickly change the topic; I could sense his emotions were in turmoil whenever we discussed her as well.

"I think you might be onto something" I replied "but surely you know that it's not just a matter of humans mating."

"What more is there?"

"Well there is the whole dating thing, falling in love, marriage, and sometimes children; I'm sure Hermione wants children."

"Since when do you call her Hermione?" That had me stumped; I can only assume that as Severus had started to develop feelings for her, I had been influenced also. Or I just liked her.

"I don't know, but now I am."

"Anyway why would Mistress definitely want kittens?"

"Children you furball not kittens! And she's female most females want children, its natural."

"But your female"

"Well noticed"

"So does that mean that you want kittens?" I couldn't help but be filled with a great sense of yearning at his words. In wizard animal years I was just entering full adulthood, the past years had been my teens, therefore the urge to have a litter of ferret kits was strong, but you don't see many ferrets running around Hogwarts and I had my paws full looking after Severus (yes he may be a grown man but he still acts like a child!).

"Perhaps one day and what about you ever thought of having a litter of ginger kittens?"

"I don't know, the other cats don't seem to like me that much" Well that was true, they found him a bit dim witted, but then again I did too I just, put up with him (alright he was a good friend but I would never tell him that).

"Hey do you think that a ferret and a cat could…" he trailed off, edging a little closer to me.

The yowl of pain that filled the room finally grasped the attention of the humans; a large ginger shape flew out of the room at great speed. As both humans looked at me in shock I calmly retracted my claws and settled my fur, I could only hope that the holes I had no doubt made in Crookshanks' hide would remain long enough for him to remember to never even think about a circumstance like that ever again. I shuddered slightly at the thought and leaving my Master and his friend still looking at me in surprise I leaped from the table and went to go and find Professor McGonagall, I was in the mood for shortbread.


	12. Chapter 12

Two days later

Licking my paws to get rid of the last of the shortbread crumbs I yawned contentedly. Life was as good as it got when you had a mad dark lord on the rampage. I had only just finished the large slab of shortbread that McGonagall had given to me, Hermione had given me a very good scratching around an hour ago, and Severus' bedroom where I was resting was quiet and warm. Unlike the downstairs living room which was full of order members playing board games and drinking lots of tea. And these are wizards and witches who are supposed to save us all, thank the gods that no one outside of the order would ever see this behaviour. The quiet atmosphere was broken when my Master stumbled through the door.

"Severus?" I was on my feet instantly, this was bad. He was still dressed in his Death Eater robes and because of this I could not see the blood that stained the cloth, but I could smell it. Moaning in pain he gently lowered himself on his bed and with shaking hands removed his mask. Clearly no-one else had seen him, he would have been challenged, it's not everyday you get a death eater stumble into order headquarters. Anxious as I was to comfort him, I restrained myself, he was already shaking from the after effects of the cruiciatus curse, a simple touch would increase the pain and I didn't want him in pain. So instead I positioned myself on the headboard.

"What should I do Severus?"

"Nothing" he choked out "it will pass" To me that wasn't an acceptable answer.

"There must be something Severus, maybe I should get Madame Pomfrey…"

"No" he gasped, shaking from a new bought of pain, I made a gentle dooking sound, hoping to calm him "I don't want that woman near me" I had no idea what to do, no matter what he said he needed medical attention and I was in no position to care for him and yet he would tolerate no one else. My head shot up as an idea hit me, there was one other whom he got on with. Despite my desire to stay with him I jumped down from the headboard and ran through the cat flap that Severus had installed in his bedroom door. Quickly traversing the stairs I ran into the sitting room which housed the majority of the order members. Being careful not to be trodden on I dashed through the multiple pairs of feet, looking for the pair that I needed. To my despair she was not in the room, making a decision I raced out of the room and into the kitchen, startling Potter in the process and if it had not been such an emergency I would have found him throwing himself away from me causing him to crash into the female Weasley funny. I was so relieved when I finally caught her scent; luckily Hermione was on her own reading at the kitchen table. Scaling the table I began hissing to attract her attention, fortunately it worked and she looked up.

"What is it Sophia?" not having the time to spell out my response in her book I ran up to her only to turn and bound towards the direction of the door making "come here" gestures with my head. Good job she was so smart otherwise she may not have understood, however she caught on right away and got up to follow me, obviously sensing my distress. Leading her up to Severus' room took less time than I thought it would, she was moving almost as fast as me, clearly wanting to know my source of concern. So close was the distance between us that when I leapt through the cat flap she almost opened the door on my tail. Reminding myself to yell at her later for it I led her to the bed.

"Professor" she gasped and made her way towards him.

"What did you get her for?" gasped my Master so only I would hear (aka through our bond)

"Shut up Severus, you know she took that course with Madame Pomfrey, she's the closest thing there is to a medi-witch that there is at Grimauld place so be quiet and let her work." I settled myself back on the headboard and watched as Hermione gingerly checked my Master's injuries, and disrobed him; placing him in a pair of pyjama bottoms (she did it with magic, no need to get excited!). I winced at the array of injuries littering his chest, more scars; clearly the girl was just as shocked if her gasp was anything to go by.

"Sir I can heal these, but the magic will cause the after effects of the Cruiciatus curse to increase until the wounds are healed" she stated, obviously shaken by the amount of blood "but if I don't heal them then they may become infected."

"Heal them Miss Granger" he mumbled "I'm used to pain by now", he didn't see when she wiped a small tear away, her clear distress at my Masters pain made her a lot more worthy in my eyes, maybe Crookshanks was onto something with these two. We both winced as she began to heal his wounds, he was clearly trying to muffle his sounds of pain but it was ineffective, once she had finished he was still left shaking, still suffering from pain from the cruiciatus curse.

"Musco" the girl intoned flicking her wand; quickly Severus' shaking subsided slightly.

"What was that?" he asked, his voice thickened slightly with pain.

"A spell I have developed sir, it will help to relax your muscles; decreasing the amount of pain you feel" she replied, pulling the covers up over him "unfortunately it will have to be renewed every hour to take full effect." I could sense how impressed Severus was, it was difficult to create a new spell.

"Thank you Miss Granger"

"That's quite alright; I'll just go and get you a sleeping draft"

"That won't be…" but she had already left the room. Cautiously I moved close to him and when I realised the spell was actually working buried myself in his arms.

"Are you alright now?" I asked my heart aching with concern. Gently he stroked me, trying to calm me down.

"I'm better now Sophie, thanks to Miss Granger, I'm glad you fetched her."

"So am I" I was glad that he was healed, but I could sense that there was more that he was not telling me, "What is wrong Severus"

"They know" he mumbled, hands tightening slightly in my fur. I knew who he was referring to why else would he come back beaten so badly, especially after his supposed triumph at Dumbledore's "death".

"What that Dumbledore is alive or that you are a double agent?"

"Both, one led to the other" I could sense his frustration at failing in his task for Dumbledore, my Master was a proud man and disliked failure, I however held a different view.

"I am sorry that you have suffered because of your discovery Severus but I am glad that you don't have to pander to that maniac anymore"

"I couldn't agree more, but there was still information to be discovered…"

"Oh shut it Severus" I said, settling myself more comfortably in his arms "you did as much as you could just worry about getting better." He gently vibrated with silent laugh only to groan slightly, the spell was beginning to wear out. Fortunately Hermione walked in at that moment. I watched in amusement as the two argued over the sleeping draft, eventually Hermione got her way and after administering both potion and spell settled in a chair that she dragged to his bedside.

After a few minutes Severus entered the realms of sleep and I gently disengaged myself from his arms and leapt into her lap. I dooked as she began scratching me and nuzzled her as a thank you, she had done much for my master.

"There's no need to thank me Sophia" she murmured and then lowering her voice she asked "can I tell you a secret?" After giving a signal in the affirmative she whispered her confession in my ear, she looked at me afterwards obviously expecting some sort of negative reaction but I only dooked and nuzzled her hand. Grinning she set me back on her lap. So we sat there all night, two females who both loved the dreaded potions master (to different degrees of course) watching over him as the wizarding world prepared for war.


	13. Chapter 13

3 months later

I was so tired. 3 days I had sat here, barely moving and waiting for some sign of movement. The Final Battle as it had been dubbed had ended 4 days ago now, the next day was spent rounding up the remaining death eaters and searching for survivors, that's when they found Severus. A group of senior death eaters had cornered him and although there time would have been better spent running; for the Dark Lord had fallen, instead they had tortured my Master, blaming him for their defeat. The order had found him the next day and brought him to Madame Pomfrey, many had been killed or died of injuries and I had overheard Madame Pomfrey talking to the Headmaster that if he survived then it would be nothing short of a miracle, his body although strong due to previous tortures may not be able to withstand this one, there is only so long that you can suffer under the cruiciatus curse until death is certain or insanity. It looked like a physical blow to Dumbledore; he had survived but was a lot weaker as a result, although the survival of all members of the "Dream Team" had certainly been supporting him as best they could. Although one was usually absent from Dumbledore's side. Hermione had been with Severus almost constantly, she had been helping Madame Pomfrey with the variety of patients, and most of her spare time was spent sitting with me at Severus' bedside, it was so reminiscent of when Severus had last been tortured that it was scary. Although this time he had not woken up.

Arching my back slightly so as to rid it of some of the aches I looked at the girl. Her shoulders sagged and she had black circles under her eyes, she looked as bad as I felt. Her hands shook from exhaustion as she reached for a pitcher of water on the bedside table, noticing as she did so where I was looking. Smiling thinly she re-folded her hands on her lap.

"Don't tell Madame Pomfrey" she whispered "she'd kick me out" I nodded my acquiescence, who was I to stop her taking care of Severus, we both strived towards the same goal. But the girl needed sleep, I over the years had become adjusted to Severus' insomnia had learnt to sleep deeply for short periods of time, she on the other hand was used to getting a good nights sleep, not to mention the toll the final battle had taken on her. Instead she had opted for taking sips of pepper-up potion every now and then, after the second day though I prevented her from doing so hissing and biting her until she gave up reaching for the bottle. Pepper-up could become addictive after a while and I did not want to deal with a craving Hermione as well as an injured Severus. But the girl still needed to rest, she was doing no good watching my Master sleep, leaping down from the shelf over Severus' bed I landed neatly on the bed, noticing that the girl's attention was completely focused on Severus I swiftly left the curtained area and raced towards the headmasters office.

Panting I paused to catch my breath as I reached the door to Dumbledore's office, my ears perked up as I heard voices on the other side, Weasley and the boy-who-still-lived, as rewarding as it would have been to see Potter panic at my appearance it would only slow me down. Placing one paw on the door I waited a few moments before a cat flap appeared in the wood (well how else would I move around the castle!) gently easing myself through I crept towards my goal, sticking to the edges of the room. Someone noticing me would result in questions from Dumbledore, something I could not be bothered to deal with in my tired state. Reaching the large and ornate bird stand at the edge of the room I scaled it (much harder than it sounds, apparently claws can't grip on smooth metal). I reached the top and swayed slightly, note to self never climb narrow and slippery bird stand when tired. However the motion awoke the purpose of my trip.

"Sophia" murmured Fawkes opening one golden eye "what is it?"

"I need your help"

It was inspired really, Hermione wouldn't sleep and I had already tried slipping her a sleeping draft but she was too clever for that, getting Fawkes to sing to her was perfect. She resisted for a few minutes before succumbing to his lullaby, whispering a quick thank you I leaped onto the bed and settled next to my Master. Another brief spurt of song filled the area causing me to turn to Fawkes, eyes questioning, but he had already left. Yawning I prepared to join Hermione and Severus in their slumber, only to leap up as the hand I rested against twitched. I was frozen for a few moments; the quiet moan broke the trance. Paws scrambling at the bedclothes I finally rested on my Masters chest, holding my breath in anticipation. After a few minutes I was rewarded with his eyes fluttering open slightly, clearly he was fighting to regain consciousness but soon after his eyes closed again, well I wasn't having that.

"Severus" I said gently. No response.

"Severus!" I yelled pounding my front paws into his chest, I got a response then. His eyes opened wide and he shot up causing me to be thrown backwards but after a few rolls I landed in a heap at the bottom of the bed.

"What?!" he croaked only to be faced with a bundle of very happy ferret.

"Severus" I cried in joy, burying myself in his arms.

"Sophia" he mumbled "what..? Why am I here?" Clearly he was not aware of what had occurred but at that moment I could not have cared less, my Master was conscious he was clearly just confused and not insane as I had feared, I was too happy to answer his questions. Finally he got a firm grip on me and I found myself being held in front of him, "Sophie" he said "tell me." So I did, I told him of the battle, the outcome and the fear that he would never recover. After my tale had finished he brought me back into his arms, but I was curious.

"Can you not recall anything Severus?" His arms tightened slightly and I could sense his unease.

"Just the pain" he whispered "I thought I was going to die" As I had done many times in my life I hid my emotions from him, I couldn't let him know how I had worried and the pain I would have felt at losing him, Severus never liked emotions, he saw weakness in them so I followed a brisker route.

"Well you're alright now," I replied settling myself more comfortably "It's over Severus your finally free."

"Yes" he smiled slightly "I am." We settled into a comfortable silence which was only broken by a sleepy sigh. I knew instantly that he had seen her by the way that he froze, although I was able to hide my emotions from him he had always had trouble hiding them from me, probably because he had never had anyone else to show them to, I could feel his heart soar while fear crashed down on him, there was such a mixture of emotions disbelief, anger, fear, hope and something that came and went so fast that I could not tell what it was.

"What is she doing here," he choked; the girl was still sleeping in her chair her hair which had previously been restrained in a tight bun was cascading down her back.

"Watching over you"

"What?!" he exclaimed quickly I dug my claws into his arms.

"Hush, she has only just fallen asleep we've been at your bedside for 3 days now, she was exhausted so don't you dare wake her" I could feel his shock.

"But why?" he gasped clearly out of his depth. Males of all species could be so stupid sometimes.

"She cares for you Severus surely you've noticed" his look of surprise clearly indicated that he had not "and I know you care for her to"

"I do not" he scowled at me

"Don't try to lie to me Severus, I've known you too long and I really can't see why you're denying it"

"I'm her teacher"

"Not anymore"

"I'm too old for her and too bitter"

"Shouldn't she be the judge of that?"

He grumbled to himself, I wasn't going to get any further with him, not in my tired state and seeing the girl stir again, I decided to leave Severus with her. There was only so much I could do for him, it was up to him now and despite his protest I knew that he cared for her. So squirming out of his arms I once again left them together, ignoring Severus' hisses to come back. I was in need of a rest and the area above the kitchens was perfect.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day

It seems I was wrong about Severus' state of mental health, it seems he took one too many curses and had gone insane, I always thought Dumbledore would be the first to crack, all the signs were there. Leaving Severus and Hermione together was probably not the smartest thing I had ever done. After relaxing for a while above the kitchens I made my way back down to the dungeons, I must have got about 10 minutes sleep before Severus came storming into the room. I wasn't really surprised to see him, he was never one to stay long in the hospital wing but I didn't expect to see him in such a foul mood. Worried I raced back up to the hospital wing to see if I could find Hermione but she wasn't there, Madame Pomfrey was though and I could hear her complaining to Dumbledore about Severus' behaviour. From what I could decipher it seemed as though upon the girl awakening Severus had let rip at her to which Hermione began screaming back at him, then after a few minutes of this Hermione charged out of the hospital wing followed shortly by Severus who insisted he move back into his chambers. He was such a prat. I poked my head around one of the beds and caught the headmaster's eye when Madame Pomfrey turned away, probably to deal with another patient; he mouthed "find her". I didn't hesitate.

Hogwarts in all its grandeur was possibly one of the most fortunate of places to live, 3 solid meals each day and house elves to carry out the house work but being a ferret, travelling around the castle had always been a little difficult, having small legs I had to take a lot more steps than others required, over the years I had become used to it however I always knew where I was going in the past. After racing through the first three floors I hauled myself onto the fourth, panting heavily.

"Okay," I said aloud, hoping to receive some sort of revelation "where would she go?" Briefly I thought of the Gryffindor common room, but no that was too crowded, the room of requirement but then that was too far, residing as it was on the seventh floor.

"Where could the know-it-all go?" and there it was, a blinding moment of inspiration and I was off, certain now of where she had hidden herself.

She was curled up in a corner when I found her in one of the least used parts of the library, she did not notice my approach as her head was resting on her drawn up knees, arms curled around herself protectively. Her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs. Dooking gently I nudged her leg; there was no need to frighten her anymore than she already had been, Severus' temper was scary at times. Raising her head to look at me I winced slightly at her appearance, her eyes still had bags under them but were now also red and bloodshot. Her hair was a fright as well but I sure wasn't going to tell her that (not that she would have understood me anyway). She smiled thinly, sniffed and reached for me causing me to panic. Not that I disliked the girl but sympathy and compassion weren't really my cup of pumpkin juice, before I could back away though I was held tightly in her lap as she sobbed into my fur. I cringed at the condition of my fur would be in after this emotional session but kept my thoughts to myself. I had hoped to find out what had been said but she was inconsolable and in-coherent, so I offered what comfort I could.

An hour or so later I trudged down from the Gryffindor tower, I had sat with (well on) Hermione for nearly two hours before gently herding her back to her dormitory, the poor girl had exhausted herself as well as me. To top it all off I could feel how ruffled and damp my fur was from Hermione's crying bout. What I have to go through for humans. Now not only did I look like an old rag but I was severely pissed at the cause for my and Hermione's discomfort or in her case, her heartbreak. Severus was in for it when I got to him, and he thought I was angry when he tested a potion on me without my consent, I glowed in the dark for a whole week. So I charged down to the dungeons, the only occupants of the castle still up were the house elves that quickly moved out of my way when they saw my temper. Unfortunately there would be no release for my temper tonight. He was asleep, well, really he was comatose. An empty bottle of Ogden's finest laid out next to him on the bed. This if possible only resulted in an increase in my anger, but not the blinding rage that had possessed me a few moments ago, instead a cold calculating anger remained one that I would use to my advantage, to help Severus see sense, after all I was a Slytherin's familiar, perhaps it was time to remind him of that.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning

My plan was ready to be implemented, I was determined to make Severus see how unfair and un-just he had been towards Hermione, and normally he would ignore me or argue his way out of such accusations. Not this time. I raised my head as I heard him stir in his bed, I was well rested (finally), and he was not, another advantage. There was a lot of groaning and cursing, peeking out from the bookcase where I had slept (usually I slept in the living room in my own bed but I needed to know when he first awoke) I saw him struggle with the bedclothes while trying to shield his eyes from the dim light that barely lit the room, the drapes were thick and kept the light from the room, that of course was about to change. Scuttling towards one of the curtain pulls I took one last look at my Master before giving it a firm yank, the result was instantaneous. Bright light flooded the room and Severus let out a rather colourful curse before clapping both hands over his eyes, hangovers always made him more sensitive to light, giggling now I rushed out of the room to watch the rest of my scheme pan out. After a few minutes he stumbled into the potions lab, I was hidden by various books piled on top of Severus' personal potions cabinet, not that he would have noticed me in his hung-over state but I was taking no chances. I stifled my laughter as he stubbed a toe on a workbench, understand that normally I would be the ever concerned familiar but Severus needed to see that Hermione was good for him and I would do whatever it took to make him happy, even if I had to drag him kicking and screaming. Though even I with my newly hardened heart found it difficult not to rush to comfort him at his scream of disbelief and pain when he opened the cabinet.

I had smashed every hangover relief potion that he possessed. Moaning and clutching his no doubt aching head he sank to the floor, conjuring up my resolve once again I began my attack.

"SEVERUS!" I screamed at him, leaping down onto the workbench nearest to him. He groaned in pain, it must have been one hell of a hangover.

"Please Sophie," he begged "not so loud"

"Not so loud!" I exclaimed, my voice rising in indignation "well I learned from the best, what is this I hear about you and Hermione having a screaming match in the hospital wing!"

"You know nothing about that Sophia" he growled, glaring at me through blood-shot eyes.

"I know plenty," I hissed back, hackles rising "I know that you had a go at Hermione for no apparent reason."

"She had no right to be there"

"She had every right Severus, the girl cares for you is that so hard to believe? That she would want to take care of you, to make sure you were alright? That she might love you?"

"She's only a child she knows nothing of love."

"Eighteen is of legal age you know that; she is no longer a child."

"Granger is not in love with me if anything it's an infatuation, a childlike crush"

"Then how come I was with her half the night while she cried her heart out, she feels something for you, why try to deny it? I know you feel something for her too."

He sent me his killer glare; I had never seen him so angry or upset all at once, I dared not even touch our bond to see what his emotions were; I would lose my nerve if I did.

"What I feel for the girl?" he hissed "she is the most annoying, obnoxious young woman I have ever come across, the only way I can bare to withstand her company is the knowledge that she will soon be leaving Hogwarts and I hope to never see her again, for why would I want to waste my time with a silly, know-it-all Gryffindor?" I had seen him employ this tactic so many times before, outright denial, pushing his emotions away, because if he did not acknowledge them, then they did not exist because love of the scale I knew that he felt for Hermione scared him. I knew he did not mean it, it is a pity that not everyone would realise this.

A choked gasp cut through the silence that followed Severus' outburst, both our heads whipped round at the person standing at the slightly open door (a door Severus must have left open last night in his drunken state) hand raised to knock. Of all the bitter irony in the world, this must have been the greatest example, it was her. Although she was on the other side of the room to us I could see her eyes well up and she began making strange gasping sounds. I briefly glanced at Severus, his mouth was open wide, I had never seen him look so shocked or so horrified.

He made as though to move towards her but before he could complete the movement she had spun on her heel and raced down the corridor, her sobs echoing off the stone walls. I was still standing on the table, mouth open in shock as I watched Severus crumple to the floor once again, I could practically taste my guilt and nearly choked on it when I saw tears fill his eyes. Severus never showed emotion to anyone, that was why he pushed Hermione away so harshly, to have him break down in front of was perhaps one of the most horrifying experiences of my life. Not really sure what to do I watched as his shoulders shook with silent sobs, before reaching behind a pile of books to the item I had hidden behind it. Gently I placed the last vial of hangover relief potion in front of him, being a Slytherin meant that I was willing to deprive Severus to get what I wanted; being his familiar meant me caring enough to not deprive him for too long.

"I'm so sorry Severus" I whispered as he downed the vial of potion, his eyes still streaming with tears ready to be shed.

"It is not your fault Sophie" he murmured brokenly, before reaching for me but I dodged his hands and raced out of the room, I could hear him calling after me but I did not look back, I had caused this and I had to put things to rights.

It was strangely reminiscent of the previous night, however this time the hallways were packed with students and teachers alike, laughing and celebrating the end of the Dark Lord. Dodging and leaping, I hurriedly made my way down the corridors, having no clue as to where I was going until my journey was cut short by a wall of orange.

"Where is he?" demanded a rather irate Crookshanks.

"Where is who?" I asked, attempting to placate the hissing and spitting ball of fur in front of me.

"That greasy master of yours" he spat arching his back, I arched mine in return, no-one called my human greasy! "Because of him" he continued "the Mistress has been crying in the room of requirement, no-one hurts my human!"

I could understand his anger, I would feel the same if anyone had dared hurt Severus, but now was really not the time, I had learnt where Hermione was, and I needed to explain to her why Severus would do this, why he would push her away.

"I completely agree with you" I replied, which caused the cat to calm down immediately.

"Really?"

"Yes of course, in fact I think you should go and claw his legs right now"

"Well if you think so." And with that he began to turn towards the dungeons but I quickly interrupted him.

"Oh no, he isn't down there, he went up to the north tower, he needed some fresh air"

"Oh, thanks Sophia" said Crookshanks with a grin, turning towards the North Tower and off he went, determined to punish my Master. Shaking my head I made my way up the main staircase, stupid cat.

Again I found myself running up several staircases of Hogwarts, when this was resolved I definitely need some serious rest and relaxation. Finally I found myself on the seventh floor, panting in an effort to receive more oxygen. Cautiously I made my way towards the door to the room of requirement, although Hermione had been glad of my comfort last night, I was not so sure that she would welcome it now, my Master had after all just verbally degraded her and probably broken her heart. Touching the door with my nose I waited a few moments for the cat flap to appear. When it did I slinked through, easing my tail through slowly so as to prevent it banging shut.

The room I found myself in was filled with cushions and littered between them were several bars of what seemed to be chocolate, however it was a brand I had never seen before, with purple wrapping and "Cadbury Dairy Milk" written on the side. I crept slowly around piles of squishy cushions, my ears quirking as I heard a sniffing sound. Sticking my head around one large pile of pillows, I finally spotted her. If I had thought she had looked bad yesterday I was in for a shock now. Her nose was red from the increasingly large collection of used tissues surrounding her, her eyes were once again bloodshot and her hair looked like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards, forwards, and once around the lake. As quiet as I was being, she quickly spotted me, my fur a stark contrast to the pastel coloured cushions surrounding us. She moaned once and buried her head into the pile of cushions she was sprawled across. I couldn't help but shake my head in disdain, this girl was supposed to be a Gryffindor for heavens sake. Quickly I scaled the mountain of cushions upon which she was lying and paused suddenly. What could I possibly do? I could certainly attract her attention, but then what? There was no way she could understand me, and my explanation of Severus' behaviour could not be pointed out in a text book, it was too complex.

I admit I felt like sinking into the cushions myself and having a cry, until the room of requirement demonstrated how amazing magic can be. I needed to communicate with the girl, and the room of requirement had just the method to do that. Strangely marked tiles suddenly appeared around the area that myself and the girl were situated, cautiously I made my way towards them, only to stop in complete amazement as I realised that on each of the white tiles was a word. My determination returned full force, if the girl couldn't hear me, then she could read what I had to say, and if that didn't work, I could always drug her and drag her down to the dungeons (as a last resort).

It took longer than I expected to compile my speech, the constant running to and fro, moving a word here and one there tired me out. Finally though I completed it the explanation that could possibly allow my Master happiness at last with the woman he loved, he deserved nothing less. Chest heaving I clambered up the pile of cushions, only to see that the girl had not moved since she had seen me, for one scary moment I imagined that she may have stopped breathing, only to breathe a sigh of relief as I noticed that her shoulders were shaking with silent sobs. Seeing this my resolve hardened, enough was enough. Too long I had watched these sensible, intelligent and well suited people dance around each other; I had been with Severus since he was a boy and I would see to it that he received the happiness I knew Hermione could give him. I was also desperately tired of running around after the two of them and needed a very good scratching behind my ears as soon as possible. Gently I nudged her shoulder, no response, I dooked quietly, no response, I batted at her with my paws, she moaned slightly and buried her head deeper, my eyes narrowed, I bit her (hard), she responded.

I had to leap out of the way as she made a grab for me, clearly angry that her shoulder now bore the mark of my impatience, but it had made her look up.

"Why you annoying..." she mumbled pushing herself up into a seating position and glaring daggers at me, at least I had her attention. Before I lost her concentration I scampered over to the paragraph I had constructed, desperately hoping she would read what I had to say. I should not have really worried; I was dealing with a know-it-all who practically devoured every piece of reading material that came within 10 metres of her, this was no exception. I watched with anxiety as her eyes widened as she read my work.

"_He didn't mean what he said. He feels threatened by the love he feels for you so he denies it, he sees emotions as a weakness. He has had a hard life, never experiencing love for another, don't give up on him, I know he loves you."_

She looked a little shocked when she finished reading, but at least she had stopped crying. I waited, praying that the gods would not be so cruel as to deny my Master this happiness. She looked at me through bloodshot eyes and I could practically see the dawning understanding in her eyes, she placed a hand at her mouth and began to giggle slightly. My ears rose at that, what was there to laugh about.

"He loves me" she murmured to herself before focussing her gaze on me once again, "He loves me?"

I nodded.

"You're sure"

More nodding.

"Where is he?"


	16. Chapter 16

To say I was nervous would be a severe understatement. I had led Hermione down to the dungeons at breakneck speed; luckily she seemed as anxious as I to reach Severus. I had ushered her into Severus' private sitting room about half an hour ago now, and had stayed with my ear glued to the closed door, willing to step in if need be. I could have touched my bond with Severus, but this was his business, and I had meddled enough, unless of course he acted like an idiot and pushed the girl away again, then I would meddle some more.

The continuous murmur of words stopped suddenly and I began to panic, what if they had killed each other! Pressing my nose to the door I waited until a cat flap appeared and stuck my head through. Before sighing in relief, they were cuddled up on the couch, looking very much in love. I don't think that I could have felt happier; my human had finally found love (it had taken him long enough), and I could finally have a rest. However just to put my mind at ease I stayed a little longer, ensuring that another screaming match did not evolve. Unfortunately for me the cuddling on a couch grew into a bit more quite a bit more. I may have been a companion to Severus for many a year, but I definitely did not need to see certain parts of his body. My eyes grew wider as the actions of the couch became more… desperate and clothing was shed at an alarming pace. Finally the shock wore off to be replaced by queasiness, prompting me to remove myself from the room. I may be as intelligent (in some cases more so) than most humans but there are certain areas of their behaviour that I never hope to understand. For instance what my Master was currently involved in on the couch (judging from the moans), I would never use that piece of furniture again (or at least until the house elves had been and gone).

Considering that the humans had moved on to this level of… relationship, I deemed my job done for the day and retreated from Severus' rooms, wishing that he had placed a silencing charm on the sitting room. Some things do not need to be heard by third parties.

Once again the floor above the kitchen proved to be very comfortable, the heat from the worn stones seeping into my body, removing all the stress from the last week. The Final Battle, Severus being near death, relationship problems, hangovers and reconciliation all fled my mind. I was warm and rested, and at that moment, nothing else mattered.

That was before I was confronted with a wall of orange.

"Where is he?" hissed Crookshanks, his tail bristling so much that one could easily have swept the floor with it.

"Where is who?" I asked with a yawn, letting my head fall into my paws. Clearly Crookshanks did not like my more relaxed approach to his anger.

"You know who!" he replied, lashing his tail from side to side.

"Well clearly I don't, otherwise I would not have asked."

"Don't get smart with me"

"Well someone has to be intelligent" If possible he seemed to grow even larger, antagonising him was probably not the best choice.

"I've been up every tower in the castle and I still can't find your Master" he exclaimed, collapsing on the floor next to me. I may have forgotten that I had sent Crookshanks on a wild goose chase, but at least I had got Severus and Hermione together.

"You don't need to attack Severus anymore" I stated, curling my tail around my body and closing my eyes.

"Why not?" he questioned

"Because I got them back together, unlike some people I can put aside rage and anger, acting sensibly and with intelligence" I failed to mention how I had tortured Severus that morning, what Crookshanks didn't know, he couldn't use against me.

"You did what!?" Opening my eyes and raising my head I fixed him with a disapproving stare.

"Well you yourself said that they should get together."

"Yes, but I also said that after, they should move on."

"They're humans; they want the whole settling down package, they don't just mate and move on, well some might but Severus won't want to, he loves her. You were right about the mating thing thought." I admitted.

"How do you know that?"  
"Because when I left them in the dungeons, they were a bit busy"

"They were…. inside the castle?"

"Yes"

"That's disgusting."

"I know"

"You think they would have the courtesy to do that sort of business outside."

"I'm not going back to the dungeons until the house elves have cleaned it."

"I don't blame you" Conversation came a little easier once we had agreed that Severus was not going to be attacked, I just hoped that when I returned to the dungeons, they were both asleep, preferably wearing night clothes.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning

It was with some serious trepidation that I made my way back down to the dungeons the next morning. Gingerly I sniffed the air, only to find the lingering scent of house elves, sighing in relief I pushed through the cat flap that appeared in the main door. I scouted out all of my Masters private rooms, save the bedroom, before relaxing in front of the fire in the lounge; I wasn't going to take any chances. Normally I would have no qualms about waking Severus up in the morning, however since he had company and the state of dress that they were in was questionable I decided to steer well clear and wait for the humans to emerge.

I didn't have to wait long; Severus emerged first, dressed in his silk pyjamas and slippers and wearing a ridiculous grin on his face. I waited for him to greet me, only to be completely ignored as he walked into the kitchen. My fur bristled slightly, after all I had done my Master couldn't produce a simple thank you! Well that's what you get for helping humans I suppose. My tail lashed backwards and forwards on the hearth rug, looking up only when Hermione entered the room dressed in one of Severus' white shirts. She too failed to greet me and walked in a sort of daze to the kitchen where I could hear my Master clinking china around. Snorting in disgust my tail lashed faster, I was glad to hear them talking and chuckling quietly together in the kitchen, but could not help but brood over their disinterest in me.

An hour later, and they both emerged, smelling faintly of coffee and toast. I raised my head slightly, hoping that now I would receive some attention. They both settled together on the sofa which was only a few feet from where I was laying on the rug. I watched with an open mouth as Severus calmly put his arm around the girls shoulder and pulled her close, still without noticing me. Angry and upset I buried my face into my fur and closed my eyes trying to put aside their ignorance and focus instead on their happiness. It took a few minutes until I could block out my emotions but it seemed that Severus had finally thought to check our bond, and sat up quite suddenly, startling Hermione, as he sensed my upset.

"Sophie, where are you?" I thought not to reply but decided that this would only cause him to try to find me, probably resulting in him stepping on me in the process and instead let all the emotions come pouring out, it is said to be cleansing after all.

"Down here you oaf!" I exclaimed angrily as he finally caught sight of me.

"How long have you been there?"  
"Over an hour" I replied, narrowing my eyes and lashing my tail once more.  
"What's the matter Sophia?" God he had the nerve to ask such a question.

"Nothing"

"Come I know it is something, are you feeling left out?" he said in a teasing tone, a tone which I was not in the mood to hear. I dodged the hands that reached out for me, my fur bristling completely now.

"Yes" I hissed "I am feeling left out, especially as I have spent the better part of two days attempting to make the two of you see sense about each other, I've been running all over the castle correcting your stupid mistakes only to be completely ignored this morning. Fine then, if you think you can do so well without me then I'll leave you alone!" I exclaimed running from the room. Within minutes he was after me, but there was only so far you could run in only your night clothes and slippers. I may have been acting irrationally, but I was emotionally wound up and although some people don't know it ferrets do have hormones, and mine were in a complete state, I needed some desperate me time and somewhere quiet to have a little cry. I ran with no real destination in mind, only to get away from Severus, I needed to calm down and he was only serving to aggravate me. This time instead of running up the floors of Hogwarts I decided instead to head deeper into the dungeons, I had had enough of running up flights of stairs.

None of the students knew that dungeons went so far down, even Potter who had entered the Chamber of Secrets did not realise how deep the chambers went. Severus and Dumbledore were perhaps the only two who knew of the lower dungeons, but many of them were inaccessible, to humans. Several cave-ins had blocked many of the entrances but there was enough space between the old stones for me to squeeze through. I sneezed several times; the layer of thick dust covered everything causing me to leave small footprints on the floor. Salazar Slytherin had built these passageways before the school had been built without the knowledge of the other founders. I had found them years ago when Severus was still in school, I had been unable to sleep and so had decided to prowl around the castle, I had chanced upon the hidden dungeons accidentally, mainly be falling into one of the corridors. Over the year I had visited them only a few times but I still knew my way. Eventually all the corridors met in one huge hall, easily twice as large as the great hall, the ceiling arched upwards to form a huge dome, how far it went up I did not know but it was tall enough for one small window to be put in. Allowing a small band of light to breach the darkness before hitting the opposite wall, so far up that one had to squint to see if it was real or just a hallucination of a light deprived mind. Raising my tail high so as to avoid getting it coated in dust I walked over to one of the walls. A mirror stood there, aged with time yet still allowing me to see a faint reflection of myself. Human eyes would have failed to see anything in the blackness. Nudging it with my nose caused it to swing gently on its hinges that connected it to the wall I assumed that a spell had been cast on the mechanisms in order for it not to rust. Before long mirrors place all the way up the walls had began to move in synchronisation to the mirror nearest the floor, reflecting the small beam of light all the way down until it lit a small area on the dusty floor. Anxious to get out of the darkness I moved towards it, although the floor was coated in dust I allowed my tired paws to collapse beneath me before curling myself up into a small ball. Finally I allowed myself to fully let my emotions lose, Severus was too far away to feel them through our bond and for that I was glad. I was nearly always the strong one but the stresses of the Final Battle, almost losing Severus, the fiasco with Hermione and finally being forgotten when I most needed to be remembered had caused my emotional barrier to break. And burying my face in my silver fur I began to cry.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N I am really sorry that this new chapter took so long but my muse abandoned me!! Please let me know what you think, I am currently working on the next two chapters but if you have any ideas then I will try to incorporate them. Thanks so much and please review!!**

Several Hours Later

I was being extremely silly, a dunderhead as Severus liked to say. It had taken almost two hours for me to fully cry myself out until eventually I had calmed down enough to think. Normally I would have been slightly irritated if Severus had forgotten me like he had this morning, but to run away in complete hysterics was not at all in my character. Like Severus I preferred to strictly control my emotions and couldn't help but wince slightly at my breakdown. I was still lying in the pool of light in the lower dungeons and in the exact same position I had collapsed in. It seemed as though I was never well rested these days my crying having worn me out again. I raised my head slightly wincing at the cramped muscles. What on earth was I doing here in this dusty place? Severus had loved Hermione for a long time, was it not his right to revel in the feeling? And who was I to demand attention, well I still wanted attention for my utterly brilliant plan that brought them together but it didn't have to be right away. I should have been able to wait. Who knows what had been going on up above while I was gone, maybe Severus had accidentally insulted Hermione's friends and she was crying in the room of requirement again. I shuddered at the thought of running up all those staircases again in an attempt to bring them together. I was truly a selfish creature.

Gingerly I got to my feet, my paws slightly numb from being in one position for too long and scurried into the darkness again, it was time for me to go home. Pausing only to shift the mirror back into its original position and therefore cut off the light, I began the long climb back up the staircases. As I climbed I estimated what time of the day it was, it had been late morning when I left and it could be no later than mid afternoon now. However the climb back up was likely to take much longer than the descent especially being as tired as I was. Sighing I hauled myself up the first flight of stairs, planning my apology to Severus in my head.

By the time I had reached the dungeons where Severus' chambers were I was shaking with exhaustion, it was now the middle of the night and I had been climbing for hours, desperate to get home as soon as possible. Panting slightly I padded down the corridor my way lit by the flaming torches that were set in the walls. A final turn and the door to Severus' chambers lay in front of me, I made my way towards it with some trepidation not knowing if my Master would be angry at me, I could have touched our bond but I did not want to look and see only anger and hatred. Ignorance is bliss. I was about to enter only to find myself suddenly surrounded by orange fur.

"Sophie!" screeched Crookshanks pinning me to the floor while purring desperately.

"Crookshanks" I stuttered trying to get my breath back "What on Earth are you doing?"

"Oh we were so worried" he proclaimed arching his back and rubbing against me, seemingly ignoring my question "We've been combing the castle all day for you, where the hell have you been? The Mistress was very sad and I've never seen the Mistress' mate so upset before."

The Mistress' mate? Severus was looking for me? Squirming a little I managed to push Crookshanks off.

"Severus has been looking for me!?"

"Well of course he has silly, you're his familiar what do you think he would be doing?"

"I thought he would be angry, I said things that were out of order."

"That doesn't matter, once I got so angry with the Mistress trying to put me in a travel cage that I scratched her but she forgave me. That's what they do; I mean they would be nothing without us!"

I paused, thinking over what Crookshanks had revealed. Maybe he was right and Severus might forgive me, there was only one way to find out.

"Thanks Crookshanks" I said nudging him with my nose gently "if you don't mind, I think I should go and talk to my Master" He nodded his large head at me before trotting off down the corridor leading up to the main entrance, his bushy tail straight up in the air. Taking a deep breath I turned towards the chamber doors, before entering quickly in case I changed my mind.

At first I thought the rooms were empty, everything was dark and it was cold enough to suggest that the fire had been doused hours ago. I crept through the dark rooms, listening intently for movement only to catch the muffled murmurings of two voices. Quickly turning towards the sound I caught sight of a light shining from underneath the door to the study. Entering the room soundlessly I skirted the wall and quickly climbed a nearby bookcase, I may have wanted to see Severus, but I was still a Slytherin and wanted to survey the scene before acting. Severus and Hermione were both sitting on the small sofa set in front of the fire, Hermione with her head on Severus' chest, with him running a hand up and down her arm. I felt my heart swell slightly at the sight, I was glad to see them so in love. Deciding not to wait any long I prepared myself for leaping off of the bookcase and presenting myself to them. I was crouched on the edge of the bookcase when Hermione sighed, stood up and took Severus' hand in her own. I fought desperately to maintain my balance and after a significant struggle settled myself back onto the bookcase and observed.

"I'm going to bed" said Hermione lifting my Master's hand to her mouth and placing a gentle kiss on the palm.

"I'll join you shortly" replied Severus, reciprocating the affectionate gesture, before staring into the fire once more.

"It wasn't just your fault Severus" proclaimed Hermione quietly before moving a strand of hair out of his face "I should have paid attention too."

"She is not your familiar, my love" my Master replied "Sophia has stood by me through thick and thin, I couldn't ask for a better familiar, how could I forget her like that? What if she is hurt somewhere?"

"We'll find her" assured the girl "but you need to get some rest"

"I will, in a few moments" The girl smiled at him gently before leaving the room, leaving my Master alone. Now was the time. Summoning my courage I silently dropped to the floor.

Considering he had been a spy for much of his adult life I was surprised that he didn't see or hear me. So it was unnoticed that I scaled the sofa and perched on one of the arms. I acted quickly, not leaving myself enough time to talk myself out of what I was about to do.

"Severus" I said clearly. He spun around to look at me so quickly I think he might have cricked his neck, he paused for a brief second before scooping me up in his arms and hugging me to his chest.

"Oh Sophie, I was so worried." I buried myself into his chest keening slightly.

"I'm so sorry Severus, I was being a sentimental fool, you did nothing wrong, I just over reacted"

"No I shouldn't have forgotten you like that Sophie after all the years you've been with me"

We stayed like that for a few minutes both apologising profusely before finally falling silently, hearing an intake of breath from Severus, I glanced up preparing myself for the inevitable questions.

"Where were you Sophie?" he asked concern in his eyes. I struggled to find an answer; I did not want to lie to Severus but the lower dungeons were no place for him, there was still a large amount of magic left over in them from the founder days, mainly from Salazar himself. It had no effect on me, but magic that old and powerful would ensnare a wizard with ease, causing him to act out of character, it would be a challenge for the mind to deal with such a large influx of magic and could result in insanity.

"I was in an old classroom in the dungeons, on top of a set of shelves, it's no surprise that you couldn't see me" I lied smoothly, desperately trying to hide my emotions from him. I did not need to worry though; he seemed to accept my answer and smiled slightly.

"Don't do that to me again Sophia, I was so worried" I quickly promised never to act that way again and he appeared satisfied, still nestled in the crook of his elbow he carried me towards his bedroom; I however stopped him at the doorway.

"You're not going to mate are you?" I asked shuddering slightly at the thought. He chuckled.

"Not tonight" I let out a sigh of relief and allowed him to carry me through and place me on the green comforter that was spread over the bed. Hermione woke up slightly at my Masters movements as he readied himself for bed; she caught sight of me quickly and gave me a gentle smile, moving closer I allowed her to scratch behind my ears. Soon Severus joined her in the bed and pulled her close, my heart filled with joy again at seeing them both so happy, my Master gave me one last scratch behind the ears before I leapt to the floor and made my way to my own bed. After climbing flights of stairs and lying on a cold dusty floor for half the day, my bed seemed illegally comfortable. It didn't take long before I was drifting off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N Sorry for the short chapter but the closer I get to finishing the less I can think of to write! Reviews always welcomed.

Three months later

I opened one eye lazily as Severus cursed loudly, he had been making notes on a new potion that he and Hermione had been working on, but he appeared to have hit a dead end as his quill was thrown onto the table and the book he had been referring to slammed shut. I only sighed gently and closed my eye again; I was stretched out on one of the work surfaces in Severus' potions lab which he now shared with the girl. The several trial potions that were bubbling gently at intervals throughout the room kept the air at an extremely comfortable temperature and had made me extremely sleepy, however being interrupted from my nap was not my idea of a pleasant afternoon.

"Why don't you just ask her?" I queried smirking slightly as I felt panic shoot through him.

"Ask her what?" he replied before shuffling equipment around. I sighed again.

"I have no idea what, but you acted this way when you wanted her to move in with you, all worried and distracted when there was no need to be. She said yes!" I cracked one eye open slightly to see his reaction. He was braced against a table, all the muscles in his back tense.

"It's not that simple" he replied, speaking through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure it is" He let out a whoosh of air and walked towards were I was laying, taking something from his robes and placing it before me. It was an engagement ring, a central emerald surrounded by rubies and diamonds, it looked expensive.

"Oh Severus I didn't know you cared!" I exclaimed in a shrilly voice, before sniggering slightly as he rolled his eyes and tugged my tail slightly.

"Be serious Sophia, I have no idea what I'm going to do"

"Well considering you've kept the engagement ring on your person it leads me to believe that you're going to ask her to marry you" He rolled his eyes again.

"I'm still not sure"

"You're not sure if you want her as a wife?"

"No of course not, I love Hermione I can't imagine life without her, she is everything to me"

"Then I don't see the problem, and I swear if you roll your eyes at me once more Severus Snape I will bite you so hard you'll be permanently scarred!"

"What if she says no" he moaned throwing his hands in the air in despair. I couldn't prevent my own eyes rolling.

"Look Severus, the girls looked after you several times when you were injured, you're the only human she can have an intelligent conversation with, I like her, she likes me, she's the best Potion's partner you could ask for, she makes sure you eat properly, and she scratches me really well"

"Anything else" he asked one eyebrow arched.

"Oh and she loves you" I smirked, sitting up now.

"You're sure?" he questioned

"Don't be such an idiot Severus, of course she loves you now are you going to propose or stand there like a first year Hufflepuff with no brains to speak of!" That got him riled; he stood straighter and squared his shoulders.

"Very well then, what time does Hermione get back from visiting Potter and Weasley?"

"Eight"

"Right, so I'll order a private dinner from the kitchens, play some romantic music, and light some candles"

"Don't forget flowers" I piped up. He nodded at me before striding to the door, obviously on his way to Diagon Alley, still thinking over his plan of action. The door shut behind his trailing robes with a resounding bang. Yawning I settled myself back into a comfortable position and closed my eyes.

"About time" I murmured quietly before drifting off to sleep.


End file.
